Kidnapping for Intermediates
by Nightgawk
Summary: Harry has finally had enough and he's ready to take the plunge. The Patil twins are more than they seem to be. And Hermione is just stuck in the Middle of it all.
1. Chapter 1: Said the Joker to the Thief

Disclaimer: Seriously. This story is posted to a FANFICTION site. But since the world in general and lawyers in particular don't have any common sense, I'll state it for all of you: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters, copyrights or anything associated. As a matter of fact, I don't even own most of the ideas for this fic. There's so many great fics out there that nothing is really original anymore, so if you find something that is yours, take it as the flattery it is.

Author's Notes: This is my first attempt at writing, so bear with me. I don't have a beta (but I certainly do take applications!), so there's bound to be some errors. The rating is M, but that's just to be on the safe side. Don't expect lemons – while I do enjoy reading those from time to time I'm quite sure I couldn't write a good one. Pairing will be Harry/Multiple.

Kidnapping for Intermediates

Chapter 1: Said the Joker to the Thief

**June 6****th**** 1995, around 3 AM**

Harry was unable to shake the feeling of dread as he stumbled down the stairs from the Headmaster's office. After the most horrible year of life he'd ever had (which had to count for something when one considers the Dursleys) he managed to get lured into a trap by the Dark Lord. He had gotten all of his friends badly injured, witnessed the death of the one person he had wanted to save, and to top it all off, Dumbledore chose exactly that day to pile a prophecy on him which stated that he would be killed by the same Dark Lord he had just escaped by "sheer dumb luck", as McGonnegal once had phrased it. Actually, the prophecy said it was kill or be killed, but Harry wouldn't give himself any illusions. There was just no way to catch up on several decades of experience, even less without resorting to the Unforgivable Curses himself.

Just as he passed the stairs to the Astronomy Tower, a realization hit him: What if he actively attempted to void the Prophecy? It's not like his life was actually something to look forward to. He would be imprisoned at the Dursleys' once again, with no one writing, calling or giving the slightest hint of a shit about him. Hermione might be disappointed, but he was sure she would get over it. She was the only person left who might be worth trying for, but what did she get for being near him? A brush with death, this time even closer than the times before. The rest of magical Britain could go to hell for all Harry cared, and he would ask her to leave the country in a good-bye note. His mind made up, he summoned a piece of parchment and wrote his last letter before ascending the stairs.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-

**15 minutes earlier**

The door to the Infirmary opened soundlessly. Parvati had silenced the hinges so it would not wake any of the occupants. The soles of her shoes were also silenced for good measure. She quickly made her way along the row of beds to the most severely injured occupant. The funnel and empty potion bottles were still lying on Hermione's bedside table, so Parvati could easily see what had been administered to the bushy-haired girl. She quickly raised a silencing ward around the bed and let out a groan. Of course those British bigots would not use the more potent and expensive healing draughts on a muggle born, never mind how close to death they were. Wasting no time with the lock on the potions cabinet, she pulled a vial from her pocket and poured it down Hermione's throat. Then she pulled a second item from her trouser pocket, lifted the cover from Hermione's feet and slid the small ring over one of the sleeping girl's toes before disillusioning it with a tap of her wand.

She looked up to see Hermione looking at her, bleary-eyed and confused, but silenced her with a gesture before she could speak. "Shhh! No need to wake them all up, is there? I just gave you a drink of Phoenix tears and a voice-activated portkey. You should be fine enough tomorrow morning to use it, and you should be safe enough to not need it before then. I'll give you the password now, ok?" Parvati tapped her wand on Hermione's nose and whispered _"Memoriam". _As Hermione felt the foreign memory enter her mind, her eyes widened in surprise. THAT was not something she would say accidentally.

Parvati quickly checked all her pockets and the ground around the bed and said to the wounded witch: "One last piece of advice before I leave. DO NOT believe ANYTHING the Headmaster says to you. He has a few compulsions on you which will make it hard to distrust him, but I want you to try as hard as you can. And don't worry, everything will come together tomorrow. Now you need to sleep and get better. _Somnus." _With that done, she turned and left. Once past the doors of the Hospital Wing, she quickened her steps to a run while pulling a shrunken broom from a hidden sheath on her right wrist.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-

Truth be told, Albus Dumbledore was a happy man tonight. He hadn't really hoped for this whole fiasco to turn around so nicely, but he certainly wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. That Black was out of the picture had to be the greatest success of the night. Voldemort's failed attempt to possess Harry was good news, too. Albus had been worried that the blood protection would be all but useless after Riddle had used Harry's blood in his resurrection ritual, but it seemed to still be powerful enough. With Black's incessant nagging about the boy's living condition finally over, another summer with the Dursleys would go a long way to strengthen Harry's resolve to do what had to be done. And next year the time would finally come that he could unbind the boy's magical core, point him at Riddle and let everything take care of itself. With a sigh, Albus got up from his desk chair and started recasting the wards Madam Umbridge had broken so she could use the office.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-

Now that everything was done, Padma could finally start packing. She would have to leave the trunk with her clothes behind as to not raise suspicion, but that was unimportant anyway. The most precious possessions she had were either always on her body or hidden behind a Fidelius charm at the underside of her bed's canopy. Of the things hanging there one was a map of Hogwarts, not unlike the Marauders' Map, but instead of one point for every person in the castle this one showed only four. Two were for herself and her sister, the other two were for Granger and Potter. On either side of the map were two neverending parchment rolls with scrying quills keyed to the two Gryffindors. It had been a seldom stroke of luck that she had – ahem - **found** the second set of the horribly expensive equipment in Chang's luggage. The chinese bint could hardly complain to Professor Flitwick about her missing dark artifact, could she? On the other hand, it made clear that she was there for the same reason as the twins. The last bit of doubt about that went out the window when the stupid woman tried to pull a 'girlfriend' routine on Potter.

Finding the blood two key the scrying quills to their targets was not that hard either. Potter was a regular in the Infirmary, and with the typical British ignorance no one cared at all about stuff like properly cleansing used bandages before throwing them out. Blood Magic was illegal after all, so no one would use it, right? Getting Granger's blood was even easier, simply because she used the same laundry basket as Parvati. Now Padma held in her hands a complete set of notes on every word the two teens had heard and spoken as well as every spell they had cast or that had hit them from the second day of term until now. There were of course a few things missing. During the Christmas holidays both had been too far away for the quills to work, unfortunately the same went for the last few hours when they supposedly fought Death Eaters at the ministry. Every time Potter had gone to the Headmaster's office the quill had stopped writing because of the wards around the place. Fortunately Umbitch had taken down the wards when she had usurped the Head Office and Dumbledore had not found the time to reapply them, so Padma had now a transcript of the prophecy Dumbledore had just revealed to Harry.

Right now Harry was walking up the steps to the Astronomy tower after standing at the base of the stairs for an awfully long time. With all the abuse he had taken over the year, it was fairly obvious what he wanted to do once he was up there. Padma had to admit she was wondering what this was all about. Dumbledore could have stopped most of it at any time, but he seemed unwilling to. What sense did that make? No matter, they would find out tomorrow anyway. She thought a quick message about what was happening to her sister who was just leaving the infirmary. Then she put the precious scrolls in a secure bag, pulled her broom from her wrist holder and unshrunk it with a tap of her wand. After a last look around the room that had been her home away from home for the last five years, she flew out through the window.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-

It was dark and quiet on the top of the Astronomy tower. The place had been frequented by snogging couples for the last fifty years or so, but the fear of Umbridge and her Inquisitorial Squad had ended that. For Harry, it was so much the better. He really had no need to see anyone, and he had even less of a need to be reminded of the happiness he had been denied for the last fifteen years. Now that he had made up his mind he didn't want to waste any more time. He sat down on the banister and swung his legs over it so he was sitting on the edge. Taking in the view, Harry was unable to suppress a cold laugh. He remembered how he really only felt free when he was flying. Well, he thought, this last flight would free him alright.

He closed his eyes and jumped.

A/N: I'm feeling evil today. Welcome to Cliffhanger City!


	2. Chapter 2: The Morning after

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Not that I'd want to own him, the little bugger is always in trouble after all.

A/N: This particular plot bunny has been running rabid in my head for quite some time. It was time for it to get out. I feel the Patil twins are grossly underrepresented in fics, especially of the non-PWP kind.

**Chapter 2: The Morning After**

June 6th 1995, 9:30 AM

Hermione felt surprisingly well when she awoke. In fact, she was amazed she felt hardly any pain at all after the curse that had hit her the evening before. She noticed the two empty beds beside hers. Ginny and Luna had been lying in those when she had woken up this night, so they had probably already been released. With nothing better to do, the brown-haired girl started inspecting the potion bottles on her bedside table. What she found was not very impressing. Apparently, the only two potions Madam Pomphrey had used were low level, cheap to make and good enough for minor injuries. Hermione herself had made those in third and fourth year and knew their properties well enough. She also knew that both potions had diminishing returns on higher doses, and the sheer number of bottles that was standing before her indicated that the last few doses would have had almost no effect on an adult.

It made the mystery of Parvati's nightly visit even more curious. Why had the Indian girl given her a substance that went for around fifty galleons per drop when the school nurse thought the cheapest available potions were sufficient? And if the cheap ones were enough, why did they up the dosage to a point that was almost unreasonable?

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

Healer Doctor Banhi Singh was beyond livid at this point. She had been brought a young man and an examination checklist which seemed to have been written for a standard checkup of the first-years in that British boarding school the Patil girls were going to. That his face was obscured with a secrecy charm was nothing overly strange, after a few years in the Department of Mysteries she had certainly stopped wondering about such things. That he suffered from severe magical exhaustion was also nothing new, most of her patients usually had just gotten out of a tight spot out in the field. But in just how bad a shape the lad was…

So far she could tell that every bone of his extremities as well as most of the ribs had been broken at least once in his life. The bones in his right arm seemed to be only a rough two years old, so apparently they had been removed and regrown at least once. He seemed to have suffered from malnutrition for years. He had not just one but **four **blocks on his magical core. Normally such a block was put on toddlers when they showed violent bouts of accidental magic and removed as soon as possible after the child had learned some basic control. This young man had been to a school that checked all firsties for such blocks as a safety measure. And despite the fact that the boy should be totally unable to cast any spell at all he seemed to have gone through four or five years of magical education without anyone noticing. And then the Brits had the gall to call her home a third-world country?

And that was just the beginning. The young man's nerves were damaged in a way that indicated he had been subjected to the Pain Curse for quite some time. When Dr. Singh cast a low-powered _Legilimens _to check on the boy's mental defenses, she immediately dropped her wand in shock. He had to be a terminally catatonic wreck, much like somebody who had received the Dementor's Kiss. There was **just no way** he could have been walking around just yesterday. Yet that was what the two girls had said when they had brought him in. The only possible explanation for the sorry state – no, the **nonexistence **of the boy's mental defenses was that apparently a very powerful Legilimens had to have spent hours attacking him for the specific purpose of destroying his defenses. Healer Singh made sure to add this specific detail to her already long report.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

A few doors down from the examination Commander Dinesh Patil angrily paced in front of his desk while his daughters sat calmly on their chairs. They had known this talk would have to happen and were not at all surprised or intimidated while they listened to their Dad venting:

"What in the nine hells were you thinking? Your mission was to gather intelligence! How the FUCK could you misinterpret that to say 'Provoke an international incident big enough to start World War Three by abducting the most prominent celebrity in all of magical Europe'? As soon as the man comes out of Singh's office we're going to _Obliviate _him and give him a nice little portkey into some broom closet back at that DAMN school. And that will be the last you've seen of him or Britain. DID I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

Not bothering to wait for an answer he went on with his rant: "And how you WASTED a few thousand galleons worth of equipment on some stupid schoolgirl! I gave you that vial in case YOU got hurt! You weren't supposed to use it for anything short of an EMERGENCY! And giving her your getaway portkey was THE MOST STUPID of all the things you could have done! Are you aware that we'll have to be on alert for the next few YEARS because a stupid CIVILIAN could pop in here at any time? And that's in case it's NOT found by someone who can see what it is! Thanks to you I'm getting a new office today! AND IT WILL BE SMALLER THAN THIS ONE FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

Padma stood up from her chair used the pause created by her dad's need to breathe: "If you're quite done now? It's our turn. I won't say anything about how they're our friends, I know you don't care about that. We gave Granger the vial and portkey for two reasons. One, because she's an effing prodigy. She's muggleborn, came to Hogwarts without a clue and still managed to beat my scores in every single subject! In third year, she used a time-turner to take every subject available at the school. Despite the stress caused by having one thirty-hour-day per week she still managed to beat my scores. Let me quote the field handbook, page sixty-seven: 'Agents are encouraged to offer occupation at the department if they encounter sufficiently talented individuals.' And two, because without the portkey she would be Dumbledore's number one leverage to get Potter back. He'd turn herself in if she was threatened. Which brings us to the other point: Potter will be going back **over our dead bodies**."

Fortunately, Parvati already had her wand out and cast a _Silencio _to cut off the indignant scream. She stood beside her sister and added: "Think about it, Daddy! We have the Prophecised Savior, tee emm, of wizarding Britain under our control. After all the shit the public over there have piled on him he's got no choice but to work with us. With the training we can give him here, he might actually have a chance to win. And when that happens the Wizengamot will bend over backwards and do anything he says, meaning anything **we** say! What do you say to that?"

Dinesh stopped trying to shout through the silencing charm and gave his daughters a calculating look. Padma added: "Really Dad, if we send him back now we might as well just cast the AK and be done with it. We **can **make this work!"

Dinesh sat back down on his desk chair, pulled out his wand and cancelled his daughter's silencer. He gave his daughters a cold look. "Alright. I see you've put a lot of planning into persuading me. But you'll have to come up with a much better plan to persuade my superiors. First of all we need an excuse to keep him here legally…" He suddenly stopped and got a faraway look on his face. "Wait just a second. You said he's the last of the Potter family, isn't he? And they were rich, weren't they?" The twins suddenly flinched and raised their hands in defence. Parvati stammered: "I don't think I like where this conversation is going…" Dinesh grinned evilly. "Oh, but you do like him enough to disobey your own father, don't you! I shall consider the option if the boy manages to impress me. Then again, if he doesn't I might send him back yet. Now go, give him a welcome and a tour of the place while he's here. I can always _Obliviate _him later."

As soon as the door closed behind the two Padma slapped Parvati on the back of the head.

~The next time you take over like that, give me a warning! And why did you try to talk him out of it?~

~Sorry for that. And as to why, I wanted him to think it was his idea for a good punishment. He's still angry, you know?~

While Parvati walked on, Padma stopped and gaped like a fish out of water. Wasn't **she **supposed to be the evil twin?


	3. Chapter 3: Catching up with Reality I

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Slavery is forbidden here in Germany, and even if it wasn't I don't think JKR will ever sell him.

A/N: First of all, thanks for reviewing! This is going better than I thought, a few people have actually expressed they like my first attempt. This chapter got a bit longer than the previous ones. I'm still trying to find a comfortable length. The story is still unbeta'd, so if you're bored send me an application.

**Chapter 3: Confrontations**

Harry woke up with a pounding headache. His surroundings were blurry and much too bright for his taste; his glasses appeared to be missing. A female voice said something in a language he didn't understand. Two sets of hands pulled him into a sitting position, a third put his glasses on and poured a liquid into his mouth. He recognized it as a pain-relieving potion and swallowed it greedily despite the bad taste. After a few moments of blinking to get accustomed to the light he saw a dark-skinned woman of maybe 40 years in front of him. On either side of the bed he was lying in stood… "Parvati? Padma? Where am I? What's going on here?" he demanded. His hand jerked to the pocket where he kept his wand, only to find it empty. Parvati slowly put her hand on his shoulders. "Easy Harry. You're in a safe place. This is our Healer Dr. Singh." She gestured to the older woman. "She's run a few tests on you and has a few questions. Nobody's going to hurt you, okay?" Padma drily added: "Well, Daddy might. He's not exactly thrilled we brought you here, but don't worry, we have him under control. To answer your question, we're in the Department of Mysteries…" Harry flinched and cried "WHAT?" He tried to jump out of bed but the twins held him back. Padma started again: "Really, if you'll be so kind and let me finish? We're in the Department of Mysteries, branch office of Kanpur. Oh and by the way, you're welcome."

Harry just gave her a confused stare, so she continued: "You know, we saved your life this morning. A Thank You might have been a good gesture of appreciation, but I suppose a nice card will do. If you need me, I'll be at the firing range. My Blasting Curse needs more work." She stormed out the door and slammed it behind her. Harry stared after her and couldn't help getting angry at the snub he had just received. He didn't notice as Parvati pulled a chair to the bed, sat down and took his hand in hers.

"Never mind her", she tried to soothe him. "Pad has always been bad at handling emotions. I know it doesn't look like it but she's really worried about you. She doesn't mean to be so –"

"Mean?" Harry asked. Parvati smiled and answered: "I was going to say 'standoffish', but you're right. Anyway, you should know how you got here. We were waiting for you on brooms over the roof of the tower. When you jumped, we stunned you, levitated you down and took you with us on one of our emergency portkeys. In the three hours you were out, we head Healer Banhi over there check you out. She found some strange things we can't explain and she'd like to ask you some questions before we get an early dinner and catch up on that missing night of sleep."

Harry instinctively looked down on his watch, only to remember that it had stopped working after diving in the Lake in fourth year. "Dinner? How long was I out then? And how did you know where I was for that matter?" Parvati gave his hand a squeeze. He blushed as he realized she had been holding his hand all the time. She explained: "When you travel from Britain to India the time shift is five and a half hours forwards. Travelling by portkey is fast but not instantaneous, at least not over such a distance. It's close to 3 pm here. And we knew what was going on because we were watching you very closely tonight, as we did for the past two years."

Harry looked confused, so she continued: "We were at Hogwarts on orders of the Department of Foreign Relations, to report on anything we hear about the children of 'important'" (she made a quote sign with her free hand) "people in the British Ministry, like Draco Malfoy or Susan Bones. And you, of course. Some of our people weren't really sure that you existed at all because no one had ever seen anything other than a birth certificate of you, yet there are countless books speculating about how you supposedly defeated Voldemort as a baby. We came to Hogwarts, talked the Sorting Hat into sending us to different houses so we could cover more ground as it were and attended classes like any other student. It wasn't a big deal really. We were to have a debriefing every time we went home for the Hols and just tell anything we remembered about anyone. I'm sure Malfoy does the same thing when he gets home. Ok so far?" Harry nodded.

"But then with you at the school things started getting - let's say - interesting. You seemed to attract strange stuff like a magnet. Some said you supposedly killed Professor Quirrell, but then again if that were true there would have been some kind of criminal investigation. Second year was even stranger. First people said you were the heir of Slytherin and the one who set the monster free to kill the Muggleborns. Others pointed out your mom was a Muggleborn herself. At year's end some said you had opened the Chamber of Secrets and tried to kill Ginny Weasley for some dark ritual, others said you'd killed Slytherin's Monster and rescued her. Our mission of simply collecting school gossip went out the window. Dad wanted to pull us out because he felt Hogwarts was too dangerous but by that time you'd piqued the curiosity of the higher-ups so he wasn't allowed to."

"I did kill Quirrell" Harry muttered. "He was possessed by Voldemort at the time and trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone. And the bit about me killing the monster is also right. It was a bloody big basilisk. Bit me, too. If it wasn't for Fawkes, I would have died in the chamber."

Parvati took a long look at Harry. "You know, if you were anyone else I'd say you're pulling my leg. But then again, you're Harry Potter. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord." Harry pulled his hand from hers and stared down in his lap. He whispered: "He's going to kill me, Parvati. I'm only still alive because I got lucky and someday my luck is just going to run out. I don't have any hidden powers or anything. My life wasn't ever that great to start with and I've just lost my last chance at a better one, so I supposed I'd rather make the end fast." He tried to fight back a sob but failed as the memories of the past day hit him with full force. He started crying as Parvati put her arms around him.

Both teens hadn't noticed Dr. Singh leaving the room earlier. With the state the boy was in she wouldn't get any answers out of him anyway.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

Hermione was bored. And confused. But really, she was mostly bored. She had tried going back to sleep after breakfast had been brought by an elf but her mind was still buzzing with the entirety of the events of yesterday. She had no way to figure out what even half of it meant and while she would normally bury herself in books in such a situation she was stuck here in the infirmary, and it was driving her spare.

She had just finished counting the potion bottles on her nightstand for the twenty-second time when finally the door of Madam Pomphrey's office opened and the school nurse set foot into her domain. She gave a small start when she saw Hermione awake. "Good morning Ms. Granger, I wasn't expecting you to be awake already. How are we feeling today?" Without bothering to wait for an answer she ran a diagnostic charm over her patient. Hermione replied: "I'm still feeling a bit sore, but it's really a lot better, thank you." Pomphrey gave her a nod and said: "Yes, you're coming along quite nicely. Better than I thought even. You'll be able to leave in a few days if you continue healing so well." With that the nurse left rather abruptly.

Hermione wondered why the nurse was so cold and short-spoken today, but realized that was the least of her worries. Maybe it was just that time of the month or something. She had just returned to counting the potion bottles for the twenty-third time when she heard a silent pop. She looked around and saw Dobby the elf standing at her bed: "Good Mornings, Miss Hermy! Dobby has a letter for yous from The Great Harry Potter Sir. The elveses found it when they were cleaning and brought it to Bonny. She can reads and said it was for yous." He held out a roll of parchment. Hermione grabbed it and started reading.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I'm sorry. You were right. You told me it was a trap all along but I refused to believe you. My lack of judgment almost killed you, and it did kill Sirius. The last relative who doesn't hate my guts is gone._

_I'd like to ask one last thing of you: PLEASE leave the country as soon as you can. Hogwarts was never that safe a place, and now that Voldemort is out in the open you're more at risk than anyone else if you stay here in Britain._

_I know the Prophecy now. It says I never had a choice. Voldemort will just keep coming back. I've been fighting for my life for as long as I can remember and the Prophecy says I can never win. I'm so very tired of fighting. I can't take it anymore. Please forgive me. _

_Yours, Harry_

Tears rolled down Hermione's face as she reread the letter again and again, trying to find some hidden code or something, anything that would tell her what was standing there didn't mean what she knew it meant. Her best – no, her only friend – was gone. Ronald certainly didn't count compared to Harry. Ron had been the one whose scathing remarks had driven her into that girls' loo to cry her eyes out on Halloween of their first year. Harry had been the one to storm in and rescue her from the Troll, with no regard to his own life.

When she reread the note for the sixth time, she stopped short at the sentence about Harry knowing the Prophecy. How could he know? She had seen how the glass ball was smashed in the Department of Mysteries and she was sure he could not have heard the recording as the fighting went on, otherwise she should have heard it too. It left only one explanation. Somebody had told him, and that somebody was responsible for his death. Cold fury welled up in her and pushed the sadness away. She was going to find out who did it, and make them pay for it.

She looked up after what seemed to be an eternity to see Dobby still standing at the foot of her bed and giving her a sorrowful look. "What is wrong Miss Hermy? Can Dobby gets you anythings?" She croaked: "He's gone, Dobby. Someone told him some terrible things, and now he's dead because of it."

Dobby shook his head: "Oh noes Miss Hermy, The Great Harry Potter Sir is not being deads! Dobby knows because Dobby is feeding magic from The Great Harry Potter Sir this very moment, Miss Hermy! Dobby can feel Master Harry Potter Sir is this way, very very far." He pointed in a direction.

Hermione tried to blink her tears away and stared at Dobby. "But I thought you were free, Dobby! Are you sure he's alive?" Dobby nodded vigorously. "Yes Miss Hermy, Dobby is sure. Elveses is always bound to Wizard Master or Mistress. When The Great Harry Potter Sir frees Dobby from bad Master, Dobby binds himself to Master Harry Potter Sir. Master is very very powerful wizard. Never minded Dobby drawing Magic from him and allowed Dobby to be free! Maybe Master not even noticed Dobby was feeding from him. Very powerful indeed!"

Hermione straightened herself some and asked: "Dobby, can you tell where Harry is all the time?" The elf nodded vigorously. "Alright, tell me all the places he was yesterday night." Dobby started counting on his fingers. "Master Harry Potter Sir was in Minty Building with you and Mr. Ron and other friends and fought evil wizards, yes? Then Professor Dumbles came and hopped to Headmaster's Office with him. Then Master Harry Potter Sir walks back to Gryffindor Tower. But stops at Astomy Tower and walks up there. Then Miss Parvi and Miss Padma came and made hop again. Now Master Harry Potter Sir is in far away place."

Hermione sat back, lost in thought. Apparently Dumbledore was back at the school, and he was also the one who had told Harry the Prophecy. Somehow Padma and Parvati had known what was going on and had taken Harry away, by Portkey if Hermione had to guess, and probably as far away as India. She really hoped the Portkey Parvati had left her with went to the same place. She was going to hug the two girls for saving her best friend. And then she was going to strangle them for moving in on her man.

Wait, where did that last thought come from?


	4. Chapter 4: Catching up with Reality II

Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't own me. He doesn't make any money by having me write this fic. Unfortunately, neither do I.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! This is more fun than I thought it would be in the beginning.

**Chapter 4: Catching up with Reality, part II**

Harry woke up again, feeling a bit better already. He grabbed his glasses from his nightstand and put them on. Looking up he realized that he wasn't alone in the room; at the foot of his bed stood the same woman he had seen earlier. He whispered a shy "Hello."

She smiled at him and replied: "Hello Mr. Potter. I hope you're feeling better now." Her voice was a soothing alto with the slightest hint of an accent. "I am Healer Dr. Banhi Singh. I still have those questions I need to ask you before I can clear you to leave this bed." She grabbed a clipboard from the nearby table and pulled a pen from the pocket of her lab coat. "Physically, you seem to be alright, although your nerves seem to have been damaged by what was probably the _Cruciatus _curse. Have you been subjected to that?" Harry nodded and the Dr. scribbled down a note.

_~…. is with him now. It's your turn then…~_

Harry looked around the room, searching for the source of the voice he just heard. Dr. Singh cleared her throat. "Is something the matter, Mr. Potter?" He shrugged and explained: "I thought I just heard someone talk. Never mind." She continued: "Alright. Before I go on I want to reassure you that everything you tell me will be held under patient confidentiality. I've sworn a rather restrictive secrecy oath. We are in the Department of Mysteries after all. Unfortunately that also means I'm rather limited in bringing in other healers who might be more specialized."

_~… I will, okay? Stop nagging me already!...~_

Harry looked around the room again. "There it was again. Didn't you hear anything?" Dr. Singh shook her head. He groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Brilliant, just bloody brilliant. You must think I'm going nuts!" The healer came around the bed and sat down in the chair Parvati had left at the side. "I'm thinking no such thing Mr. Potter. You've been through some pretty stressful things from what the girls told me. Now, I have two more questions for you. One, did anyone ever tell you that your magical core is blocked?" Harry looked up at her and answered: "What do you mean, blocked?" Dr. Singh looked him over from head to toe: "You've never had any troubles with the practical spellwork in school?" "Well, when I learned the _Patronus_ charm in third year, that was pretty hard. Took me several months to get it right." The healer stared at Harry before she caught herself. "Oh, no worries then. I hope you are aware that the _Patronus _is so advanced it's not even required for the NEWTs in the British education system? Anyway, my scans show four independent blocks. Since that in and of itself is close to impossible, I've also checked you for any charms I know which could obscure the readings of my diagnostic spells. You don't have any of these on you and even if you had they would rather hide an existing block than showing a non-existing one. All said, it should be impossible for you to even levitate a feather, let alone complete your OWL exams."

Dr. Singh took a deep breath before continuing: "And that is not even the strangest thing my examination turned up. Which brings me to my second question: Your mental defenses are damaged to the point where I have to wonder how you manage to have working brain functions at all. Are you aware of anything that might explain how they got so damaged?"

Harry paled when he heard this. Sure, he'd been in the Hospital Wing more than any other student at Hogwarts, but this sounded serious. He murmured: "That must have happened when Voldemort possessed me in the Ministry Atrium. Hurt like hell, too." The healer made a note on her clipboard. "He possessed you? As I understand it you were in the middle of a fight then. He shouldn't have had the time to use any of the known methods for that. I assume you are familiar with what the _Imperius_ curse does?" Harry nodded. "Good, you are probably aware that the curse implants a strong command in the mind of the subject but he or she is able to mentally fight the effect. With a good mental defense and a bigger magical core it gets easier to resist it. With a full-blown possession, that is impossible. The mind of the subject is yanked out from the driver's seat as it were, and the caster controls every function of the body. Because the effect is so much more profound, the need for preparation and the power required to go through with it is a lot more."

Harry cut her off: "Dumbledore said that he and I share a connection because of the failed killing curse when I was a baby, would that have helped him? On the other hand, I was able to shake off his _Imperius_ just a year ago. That doesn't make any sense, does it?"

Dr. Singh nodded. "You're right, it really doesn't make any sense. I like to see myself as an expert on mental connections, and while I'm sure having one would have helped your adversary, it should have helped his _Imperius_ in the same way. If the spell didn't work, the more elaborate method shouldn't have taken hold at all, even less in the middle of a battle. Unless…" She paused and gave Harry an earnest look. "Unless he knew that your defense was badly damaged. He must have known, otherwise he wouldn't have tried it at all. Which brings us back to the question: How did it happen?"

When the realization came to Harry it brought with it a cold fury that settled in his stomach. "Snape", he hissed. "The next time I see him, I'll kill him." Seeing the confused stare Dr. Singh gave him, he spat: "The bastard was supposed to give me Occlumency lessons. I always said they were useless, but now it seems I was wrong about that. He did achieve his goal, but that wasn't to teach me!"

Dr. Singh scribbled down some more notes and asked the next question "Would you mind telling me what these lessons looked like?" Harry muttered darkly: "All the greasy git ever did was to shout 'Clear your mind, Potter!' and then cast a _Legilimens_ at full power. He never explained how to do that though." Dr. Singh shook her head sadly. "Yes, that is about as bad as I expected. It certainly doesn't have anything to do with real instruction. I advise you to press charges against the man; Mind Rape is punishable with life-long imprisonment in most countries, including Britain. I can also testify as an expert witness if you want me to. And I'll teach you a few meditation techniques to help you repair some of the damage, but I fear that's all it will do. I'd be very surprised if you were able to build any Occlumency shields in the next twenty years or so." She stopped writing and looked Harry in the eye. "The girls have told me about your aversion to hospitals, but for now I fear I have to confine you to this bed until I can be certain you're not suffering any aftereffects I can't see yet. I want you to go to sleep after dinner and I'll see you again tomorrow morning. We'll talk some more about that connection you mentioned then. Good night Mr. Potter." She gave him a curt nod and left the room, leaving the door open. When he saw one of the twins standing outside with a tray of food, his mouth started watering. Without the school uniform he wasn't sure which one it was, but the tight t-shirt and short skirt sure made her look great.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

After Dobby left Hermione had a lot of time to think. She came to several conclusions and all of them terrified her.

First, she was sure that she was in love with one Harry Potter. After the troll incident in their first year, she'd been at his side through thick and thin. Her whole life was built around him. She couldn't imagine any other man at her side. She'd just never done anything about it.

That brought her to her second conclusion, which was in a way even more terrifying. Hermione realized that over the last five years she'd done a lot of things she couldn't explain to herself, rationally or otherwise. She'd never acted on the feelings towards Harry, but she couldn't explain why. She was aware that she could have made up tons of excuses, but she never did that either. It felt like the discussion just never had come up, and Hermione knew herself well enough to know that was totally not like her. For example, when Viktor had asked her to the Yule Ball she'd said yes without thinking instead of telling him that there was only one boy she would go with, or not at all.

Even worse, ever after that Halloween night in first year she'd been downright nasty to anyone who tried to befriend Harry. He was famous even before he even came to Hogwarts. That he'd had only two close friends for the first four years was mostly her doing, and she couldn't for the life of her explain why! Parvati had been the most persistent to try and get past her, but even she lost interest in becoming friends with Harry, as that seemed to entail getting along with the greatest nag of all of Gryffindor. That nobody so far had seemed to think of visiting her drove the point home even more painfully.

The whole thing was confusing, frustrating and embarrassing but Hermione resolved to come clean with him anyway. It wasn't something she was looking forward to either. He would probably hate her afterwards but she had to get rid of the guilt she was feeling. And maybe – just maybe - he could even forgive her.

When Dobby brought her lunch she thanked him and ate in sad, silent contemplation.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

The fireplace in the Headmaster's office roared and spat out a very tired Albus Dumbledore. He'd spent most of the night reapplying the wards around his office and the whole morning sorting out the mess in the Ministry. He and Fudge decided it was best to not worry the public any more than necessary, so the news of Voldemort being back would have to wait for another few weeks.

With the most urgent things done, Albus decided to take a nap. This afternoon he would have to start repairing the numerous gizmos in his office, especially the monitors he needed to keep track of Harry. Those had to be running before the boy left for the summer.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

**OMAKE:****Rita Skeeter Interviews**

**Rita: **Hello Ladies, hello Harry! Would you mind explaining to our dear readers why this update was so late?

**Harry: **That's not our fault! It was all Nightgawk! He fouled it up!

**Padma: **Yeah, he's a fat old lazybones, that's what he is! Instead of writing, he's playing around with a baby!

**Parvati: **Oh, you shut up! You're just angry he's portraying you as the socially inept nerd-girl you are. And besides, little Lukas is soooo cute! (squeals)

**Padma: **Okay, he is, but that's no reason to neglect us like that, is it?

**Rita: **Do you have any plans to improve the situation for future chapters?

**Harry: **Not really. I mean, if we paid him for writing he could lose that annoying day job, but we're working on a budget here. Maybe we should just be happy the story's getting done at all.

**Parvati: **That's right! And don't forget that expensive bottle of Phoenix tears we needed because _someone_ got hurt. That's been ripping an even deeper hole in the budget!

**Hermione: **Of course! Go ahead and blame me, that's alright! (grumbles)


	5. Chapter 5: What do you mean, stuck?

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter. This fic is written for the sole purpose of recreation, which I badly need. I don't make any money with it, which is sad for money is also something I badly need.

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the kind reviews! Part of this chapter is probably as suggestive as the story's going to get. On the other hand, nothing is set in stone. On the third hand, since it was suggested in the reviews, I did try my hand at lemon. It sucked pretty bad and I'll sure as hell NEVER post that first attempt anywhere.

Kidnapping for Intermediates

Chapter 5: What do you mean, stuck?

Ginny woke up for the second time this day and it felt a lot better than the first. While the first time she had been alone, confused, scared and dressed in a hospital gown, she was now warm, content and quite naked under the covers. Most important, this time she snuggled against Neville and using his shoulder as a cushion. As she took a quick look around she noticed that the Room of Requirement had added a nice fireplace to the setup they had devised earlier this morning. Granted, that had consisted of nothing but the bed. She grabbed her wand from the nightstand (which hadn't been there this morning) and did a quick _Tempus _charm to learn that it was late in the afternoon. She sighed and turned around to find that Neville was awake and looking at her. "Good morning Beautiful", he whispered. Ginny laid back into his embrace and whispered back: "Good morning Handsome".

Neville looked up at the ceiling while pulling her close with one hand and playing with her hair with the other. "Umm, Gin?" he whispered. "What does this make of us? Are we boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"Yeah, I guess we are", she purred.

"Good." He took a long look at her face. "There's something we need to talk about."

Ginny stiffened in his arm. "You know", she deadpanned, "a phrase like that has even most Gryffindors running for the hills."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. But this is serious, ok? You know I'll turn sixteen this summer."

"I know, so what of it?" Ginny asked.

"That means my Gran will start negotiating a Marriage Contract for me. And her number one candidate is a certain Marietta Edgecombe. You know her well enough to take a guess on what I think of the idea, don't you?"

"Oh Bugger!"

"Verily. The Edgecombes want in on the pull of the Longbottom family name, and my Gran wants me in on the Edgecombe money. From her point of view it's a very good deal. That, and she's good friends with Marietta's grandmother. The only thing I can do about it is find a suitably rich and/or pureblood alternative before the negotiations become too earnest."

Ginny looked at him in shock. "You don't…"

"Yes I do, Ginny." Neville told her. "Marry me. Please."

"But I'm not even fifteen!" Ginny complained.

"I don't care. Really Gin, you can see the class size Hogwarts gets together for our generation, you know how shallow the dating pool is for us war time babies. I've figured that if I move fast I can have the pick of the litter, as it were. And that's why I'm asking you."

After a few seconds of thinking she took his mouth in a searing kiss and straddled him. A few minutes later she proceeded to say yes.

Repeatedly, at the top of her lungs.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

Harry sat up a little straighter in his bed as one of the Patil girls came into the room with a tray of food. With her rather short Muggle clothing he couldn't tell which of the two it was, but Harry didn't mind. She looked pretty hot, and why not enjoy life's little pleasures while he was stuck here? She greeted him with a curt nod and a "Hi Potter". _Alright, must be Padma. _He responded with a nod and a short "Hi". She levitated the table over his bed, set down the tray and took a seat on the chair at the side of the bed.

Harry saw three bowls on the tray, a large one with still steaming rice and two smaller bowls with what looked like stew. It also held two plates and sets of cutlery. Padma started explaining: "Normally we don't bother with plates and stuff around here. We just form little balls of rice and dip those in the curry, but I thought you'd appreciate it if I didn't throw you in at the deep end in all things. Now, this one is for you" (she gave him one of the small bowls, which was white) "and this is for me." She took the black bowl and set it down at her end of the table.

"What's the difference?" Harry asked. Padma grinned and told him: "You Europeans are sissies when it comes to spicy food. Which is why you get a sissy-spiced curry and I get an India-spiced curry. I'll let you try mine if you insist but I strongly advise against it. Here, let me help you." With that, she started piling rice on his plate and applying a liberal amount of 'his' curry to it.

After doing the same for herself she flopped back down into her chair . "One more thing, Potter… I, um, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I didn't mean to be so…"

"Standoffish?" Harry helped.

"I was going to say 'mean'. Really, I didn't get any sleep last night and I got yelled at a lot today. But I shouldn't have taken it out on you, of all people."

Harry gave her a sad smile. "It's alright. By the way, thank you for… um, getting me here and all."

"You're welcome", Padma replied. "Now let's eat before this gets cold."

At the first bite Harry's eyes widened. "That is sissy-curry? I don't think I want to know what yours tastes like!"

She shot back with a grin: "Nope, I assumed you wouldn't!"

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

After assembling the first of his monitors Albus Dumbledore treated himself to a breather and a lemon drop. The device showed that Harry was in good health generally. Unfortunately it had been so damaged that it required a complete attuning rite. This particular task did not only consume more time than Albus would have liked, it also needed quite a bit of Harry's blood. The good news was that Albus always had a bit of it on stock for cases like this or for the odd bank transaction he needed to see to in the boy's name. The bad news was that his stock had chosen this particular time to run out, in fact he would be lucky if it was enough to get the second monitor running. _Well, poor Harry will have to be checked over by Madam Pomphrey after all, _he thought to himself as he went back to work.

Another two hours later, Dumbledore sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. He had indeed managed to repair the second monitor, a device which measured the distance between itself and the subject it was attuned to. He reveled in his accomplishment as he tapped the device with his wand and sent the dials spinning.

His joy turned to confusion as the dials refused to stop after ten seconds.

After twenty seconds, the confusion made room for worry.

After thirty seconds, the dials finally stopped. Albus looked at the device and turned white with shock.

_4531 Miles_

After a few minutes to catch his breath, Albus rose from his chair and strode to the fireplace. He grabbed a fistful of floo powder, tossed it in the flames and shouted:

"SEVERUS!"

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

Once Harry had gotten used to the strange spicy food it was actually very good. He and Padma had just finished eating in companionable silence and were now resting against the back of the chair, or the headboard of the bed in Harry's case. Harry turned his head and looked at the Indian girl before he asked her: "What's gonna happen now?"

Padma mustered him intently. "You mean, now that we brought you here?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, Daddy is negotiating with our superiors about not obliviating you and sending you back. And he does that because we asked him to, not because he wants to. Right now you're a political hot potato, an illegal prisoner of a foreign government. However, since the old men seem to think my sis and I shit sunshine, I think your chances for staying are pretty good."

"And what if I want to go back?"

Padma sighed. "Why the hell would you want to? Voldemort and his troops are after you. Dumbledore is setting you up for we don't know what, and Fudge is doing his best to have you silenced. Going back there now would be your _second_ attempt at suicide. Not to mention that Banhi had a few choice words to say about Britain in general and your special friend Poppy Pomphrey in particular. So for now you're not going anywhere anyway."

"You mean I'm stuck here", Harry concluded.

Seeing his frown, she continued: "Look, as long as you're here we have time to figure out Dumbledore's plan, if he has one. You'll be ok to train in a few more days and we're working on spinning the whole thing so you'll be here legally. Our library has a whole section with real nasty combat spells for you to go through. We'll alternate between library and firing range. It'll be fun!"

Harry was unable to suppress a chuckle. "You know, you just sounded like Hermione, just more… evil." His face fell as he remembered his friend. "Oh Bloody Hell. She's going to kill me!"

Padma leaned forward in her chair and grabbed his hand. "Stop whining. You defeated a basilisk, and now you're afraid of a girl? Alright, I promise you Parvati and I will protect you if she tries to kill you."

She got up and let go of his hand. "We won't stop her from beating you up a little though. The both of you deserve that much. Have a good night!"

Harry stared after her as she left the room. Even after the door closed, it took him a few more seconds to shout: "Oh, thank you very much!"


	6. Chapter 6: A reunion, of sorts

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter. This fic is written for the sole purpose of recreation, which I badly need. I don't make any money with it, which is sad - because money is also something I badly need.

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the kind reviews! One reviewer pointed out that "this is one of the first stories I have read where Neville is getting more action than Harry". Let me explain here: Neville is regularly called the "Number Two Most Eligible Bachelor in Wizarding Britain", at least in Fanon. Assuming little Malfoy doesn't count because of his betrothal to Pansy Parkinson, it may well be true in Canon, too. Plus he doesn't have the attached baggage of a Dark Lord breathing down his neck and being friends with the two most obnoxious characters of the Potterverse (seriously, between the three of them, Harry, Ron and Herms could start a self-help group for people suffering from an inferiority complex).

That being said, so far he just got his action _earlier_. Who says it's going to be _more_?

A/N 2: Sorry this chapter is so late again, but in addition to looking for a new job (mainly because the old one pays too little) I was hit by the Flu. As soon as I was back on my feet, my wife and kid were sick. On top of it all this chapter was the hardest to write so far because most of my plot hinges on what happens next.

A/N 3: On a happier side note, I DID manage to get that new job. It comes with a hefty raise AND more vacation. Hopefully, life will be a bit more manageable now. And that in turn will hopefully free up more time for writing.

Now, let's get on with the show!

**Kidnapping for Intermediates**

**Chapter 6: A reunion of sorts**

Hermione looked up from her thoughts of self-loathing when she heard footsteps. Sure enough, it was just the people she expected, the two targets in this school who were far more deserving of her wrath than herself. She righted herself in her bed as much as the pain in her chest allowed and gave the two approaching professors a cold stare.

"Professor Dumbledore! Professor Snape! Just the two people I didn't want to talk to!" she spat. "What brings you here on this fine evening?"

Snape glared at her. "You know exactly why we're here, Granger! WHERE IS HE?"

Dumbledore held up his hand and admonished his professor: "No need to shout, Severus. I'm sure this can be resolved in a civil manner." He turned back to Hermione. "Miss Granger, it appears that Mr. Potter has gone missing and with the events of last night we are worried about his safety. We thought it prudent to talk with you first. Is there anything you can tell us which might help us find him?"

As Hermione heard these words she was flooded with conflicting feelings of guilt at letting the Professor down, yet at the same time it was as if everything would get better now that he was back at Hogwarts. At the same time she noticed the almost unnatural twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes and that he had made a gesture with his left hand while speaking. Parvati's words came back to her: "_DO NOT believe ANYTHING the Headmaster says to you. He has a few compulsions on you which will make it hard to distrust him._" Now that she realized where those feelings came from she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and concentrated on what she wanted. Just like Harry had explained to her, after he had been able to throw off the fake Moody's _Imperius _in fourth year DADA. She opened her eyes to see Snape still glowering at her and Dumbledore waiting for her reply with an expectant look.

"As a matter of fact, **Headmaster"**, (the word sounded like an insult out of her mouth), "I do know something. Harry sent me that wonderful letter last night which I'm sure you'll find rather interesting." She handed him the suicide note and he eagerly started reading. While Snape was distracted with glancing over Dumbledore's shoulder, Hermione quickly grabbed her wand from the nightstand and hid it in a fold of her blanket.

Dumbledore finished the letter quickly and looked back at Hermione. "You know Miss Granger, on one hand I have to commend you for breaking through my spells. On the other, I'm very disappointed in your apparent assumption that I would be as easily duped as the dear Madam Umbridge. You're not nearly distressed enough, so I have to conclude you must know that Mr. Potter is alive and well. I will ask nicely one more time: Where is Mr. Potter?"

Hermione gave the old wizard her best glare: "To think that I've actually defended your decisions in the rows I've had with Harry… Or was that even me? Just how long have you had those charms on me? I can say one thing, Dumbledore: I wouldn't tell you if I knew where he is!"

The Headmaster shook his head with a sad expression: "But Miss Granger, you have to believe me. It's for the best of everyone that Mr. Potter is found as soon as possible." Hermione shouted back: "**Your idiocy has driven my best friend to try and commit suicide!** You had to dump that fucking prophecy on him when he was at his weakest! And to top it off, you use compulsion charms on me! Why the hell should I believe in your view of what's best?"

Upon seeing the look of contempt she gave him his face hardened and he added: "You're not leaving me a choice, Miss Granger. I fear your OWL scores will have to be rescinded once we have uncovered evidence that you were cheating. You will of course be expelled for the offense."

That had Hermione gaping like a fish at the old man. She sat staring at the two professors while Dumbledore impatiently tapped his foot and Snape had that evil smirk on his face again. She'd seen this visage on him every time he had seen a chance to get Harry - or her, now that she thought about it - in trouble. In the end it was that smirk which made the decision for her. She took a deep breath to calm herself and told the venerable wizard: "Well, in that case this is probably the last time I'll ever speak to you, isn't it? Because there's one thing I'd really like to tell you and I don't want to miss my chance." She took another deep, looked him straight in the eye and said: "Fuck You."

For a moment Dumbledore looked ready to explode. His face turned an ugly shade of red and his hand twitched towards his wand, but he managed to regain his self control. He gave her another one of those 'disappointed grandfather' looks which Hermione now believed he had to have studied in the mirror for years. On the other hand, his acting wasn't all that great now that she actually knew he _was _acting.

Snape chose this moment to pipe up: "I told you she would be that way, Sir. It's like casting pearls before the swine, really. But on the other hand, she really does seem to believe the note is authentic. That means the boy is a lot further along with the plan than we thought. If she were to succumb to her injuries it would only add to his reasons to go through with it, once we have him back in our control. And I'm rather sure that'll be the only way for her to be of any more use to us. She knows too much already, and if we _obliviate _her he might notice something's wrong." Hermione paled even more than before while Dumbledore gave her a long look. After what seemed like an eternity he gave a nod to Snape and replied: "Before you do it, find out whatever it is she knows and doesn't want to tell." Then the old man turned and left the room. Hermione shouted after him: "What do you mean, he's further along than you thought? Are you deliberately setting Harry up to die?"

Dumbledore turned around once more and gave her a long pause. His voice was hard as steel when he answered: "What I'm doing, Miss Granger, is making sure our world will still be here tomorrow, by seeing to it that a prophecy is fulfilled. You see, in the last war we were just weeks away from the Muggle Government starting to intervene when young Harry defeated Voldemort. We had to promise them such a thing would never happen again, but now Voldemort is back and without Harry we have no chance of stopping him. As much as I wish it were differently, there is no other way. **One must die at the hand of the other. **If that doesn't happen as soon as I can arrange it the Muggles will surely step in this time and the Statute of Secrecy will be broken. The Witch Hunts from just a few hundred years back will start again, but this time it will be with those Nuke Bombs your people have invented instead of the pyre." With these words, Dumbledore left the room for good.

Snape's detestable grin became even broader as soon as they were alone. "I've been wanting to do that for quite some time, Granger", he spat. "Any last words before I tear your mind to shreds?"

_Of all the phrases you could have used, Parvati, _Hermione thought. She closed her eyes for a moment in anticipation. Then she looked up and intoned the activation phrase for her Portkey:

"Spank me, I've been a bad girl."

Snape's eyes widened in surprise while she felt the familiar tugging sensation behind her navel. A second later she fell, spinning through the ether towards her unknown destination.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

Once again, Harry woke with a start in the middle of the night. He wasn't surprised at all that he'd had another nightmare, but fortunately tonight he couldn't remember what it had been about. He failed to suppress a grimace at the perversity of the situation: for everybody else, having a nightmare was a bad enough thing in and of itself, and to have one that they remembered afterwards was rare. For him, having vivid visions of horror which burned themselves into his memories was the more common occurrence. It was yet another thing where he desperately wished for more normality in his life.

His musings about how sorry his life was were cut short by the sound of an alarm bell ringing somewhere and the sounds of shouting and footfalls following shortly afterwards. He relaxed back onto the pillow despite the noise outside the room, too tired to care about whatever happened out there.

However a bit after the alarm bell stopped ringing and the worst of the commotion died down, he started feeling a strange pain in his chest and abdomen. It felt as if he had a cut across the upper half of the body, starting at the right shoulder and ending somewhere near the left hip. As the shouting started to get louder again, signaling that the people who did the shouting were coming back, the pain gradually started feeling worse with every second.

When the door to the infirmary opened he was already blinking back tears at the intensity of the feeling. Harry grabbed his glasses from the nightstand when someone rushed in without sparing him a single glance and readied a second bed with a few swishes of their wand. Harry recognized the figure as the Healer from earlier in the light that shone in from the corridor. Behind her came two men carrying a bleeding figure on a stretcher. Harry's eyes widened when the light in the room went on and he recognized the blood-soaked person being carried in.

It was Hermione.

He wanted to shout her name and jump up from the bed, but with the pain he felt it came out as a groan and a jerk back into a somewhat upright position. It still seemed to be enough to get her attention, because her eyes snapped open and immediately bored into his.

_He was lying in a hospital bed, with Dumbledore and Snape trying to coax his whereabouts out of him. Huh?_

… "the hell is going on now, Doc?"…

_He opened the door of the loo stall just a crack to peek out at the noise and saw a Troll shoving itself in through the door to the bathroom. Wait a minute, what is this?_

…" explains a lot. Well crap, get him out of…"

_He lay on the dental chair and looked up into his Dad's eyes and the examination lamp. Bloody hell, why am I seeing Mione's memories?_

… "Good night Mr. Potter! _Stupefy!_"

The world went dark.

-KFI-KFI-KFI-KFI-

Severus Snape disbelievingly stared at the empty bed for a few seconds before leveling his wand at it with a shriek of rage and blasting it to a mess of wood splinters and shreds of fabric. He turned around and stalked out of the Hospital Wing to find Dumbledore being accosted by a frantic Filius Flitwick.

"Albus, you have to do something!" the little Professor shrieked in his high-pitched voice. "Both girls can't be found anywhere on the grounds, it's like they just vanished over night!"

Dumbledore tried to push past the part-goblin but Snape grabbed his shoulder to turn him back around. "We've got even more trouble, Headmaster! Granger had a Portkey. She's off to Merlin knows where, probably meeting up with **him** right now."

The old Headmaster's face became even more serious and he stroked his beard a few times before answering: "It seems we've underestimated them. They must have had it all planned out, and they had two more accomplices. Filius here has just informed me that both Patil girls have left the ground." He turned around and gave the part-goblin a sour look: "Filius, finding your star pupil and her sister has just made its way to the top of my priority list. **Because she bloody went and kidnapped our only hope at defeating Voldemort!**" he shouted.

A/N 4: That was a tough chapter to get done. If you think this makes little sense, just wait for the next one. Everything will make perfect sense then. Ok, maybe not everything. But most of it. Trust me!


End file.
